Database Users

Mini Usb and screen off

Have a couple of questions regarding the above.
Is it safe to charge my wizard using any mini usb lead ? Found a sony one at work that was from a camera. Do all mini usb leads allow the same voltage to come through or are the ones that come with the Wizard specific ?
Also whats the difference between the following ?
Turning the screen off using the power button
Allowing the screen to turn itself off when not used
Turning the screen off using the screen off command with wisbar 2 ?
Cheersssssss.

I use many different usb cables, from cameras, mp3 players, gps antennas and never had any problem with them.
When you use the power button, you don't just turn the screen off, you more or less hibernate the whole device. Turning the screen off just saves battery because screen , wifi and bluetooh "burn" the battery much more than the cpu

knowsleyroader said:
Have a couple of questions regarding the above.
Is it safe to charge my wizard using any mini usb lead ? Found a sony one at work that was from a camera. Do all mini usb leads allow the same voltage to come through or are the ones that come with the Wizard specific ?
Also whats the difference between the following ?
Turning the screen off using the power button
Allowing the screen to turn itself off when not used
Turning the screen off using the screen off command with wisbar 2 ?
Cheersssssss.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used various Mini USB leads with no problems. Also my Cheapo BT GPS reciever from www.mobilefun.co.uk came with a car charger as it has the same mini USB socket and have used that with no probs

Turning the screen off using the power button
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This actually puts the PDA device into standby mode.
Allowing the screen to turn itself off when not used
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The PDA is still 100% awake, just the backlight of the screen is turned off.
Turning the screen off using the screen off command with wisbar 2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dunno, I don't use it..

Re: Mini Usb charger
knowsleyroader said:
Is it safe to charge my wizard using any mini usb lead ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was wondering the same thing, but I have some specifics in my case. My own charger from T-Mobile USA's MDA says "output 5V 1A DC". The other charger (from a Blackberry device) that I'd like to see if I can use says the same thing, except the amperage is lower (400 mA). Is it safe to use? Thanks.

Don't worry. It's safe to use your blackberry charger . The only downside would be that it may be even longer than usual to charge your battery

There is only on minor problem with using other chargers that ARE NOT made for the Wizard.
If your device is below 20-30% charge it will not charge it back. This is a apparently a problem that is overcome by the 1a charger that ships with the device. Most of the other USB chargers are 500-550ma and charge at a much longer pace. They will work but you have to wait "awhile" for a complete charge.
Hope this helps.
... I learned about this this week from various accessory vendors.

usb charging turn on/off

I need some help.
I want to turn on/off the usb charging for my MDA pro from T-Mobile.
I find here in the forum the following key
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Drivers\BuiltIn\usbfndrv".
But this key does not exist in my MDA pro. There is only the key
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Drivers\BuiltIn\usbfn".
Do you have an idee how I can turn on/off the usb charging anyway?
Thanks for helping.
Barlow

AFAIK the USB port is the only way to charge your Uni.
It doesn't make any difference to the operation of the device if it is charging, you can still set it to turn off after a time, you can set the screen brightness the same as when running on battery.
I would imagine that (and if I'm wrong, please tell me) the charging circuit is hard wired into the port and the battery so that you can still charge even with no OS on the device.
Is there a reason you would like to disable charging?

I want to turn off because otherwise the device will always be charged, not charged because I not always sitting on my pc and then I use the mda and when I come back I sync againg.That's happens a lot of time a day!
Do you know any registry key where I can turn off charging the device overt the pc?!

Topping Up is Better
There are a million threads about charging and this is sure to provoke flaming but here goes anyway.
You are better off topping up the battery frequently than running it low and recharging. The 'limited number of charging cycles' does not mean that you are better to run it low and recharge infrequently, but instead refers to the fact that with use the battery will degrade. Charging on your pc -- topping up -- reduces the impact of use slightly, but it is primarily battery use that matters.
There is some evidence that a monthly deep cycle will help, but for day to day use, topping up will *extend* the life of your battery. Note that there is no memory effect as exists with NiCd batteries, which were degraded by topping up.

Charging via USB

Had my Ameo connected to may Laptop via USB for several hours without much usage.
However, when checking battery status the battery went even worse. I had only 20% remaining battery power.
Update: Battery power went to 10% now while connected to Laptop...seems to me that USB power is insufficient to charge the Ameo. That means it is impossible to work for a longer period with connected Ameo because the battery runs out of power !!!!!!
Who has made any other experience ?
Dieter

I see the same issue, although not as severe as for you. When I'm connected through the USB cable I don't gain nor lose battery power. I have had it connected for mopre than 12 hours in a row and see no change in battery power.
Not sure how you could resolve this.

Must be the case. Mine does charge (USB 2.0 - how 'bout yours?), but, it can take 12-15 hours or more to charge from 30% to 90%. Never seems to get to 100%

Yes me too. it's such a dramatic different when comparing it with Universal. Much faster charging.

I think this is mentioned in some other posts, wonder if there was a way to sort this out?
It appears the Athena uses more power than the USB can replenish. Strange. Ive had a universal and alot of other HTC devices and they were fine like you said.
mmm! strange

May be by using a powered USB Hub would make it charged. I'm going to try it tonight and will post the outcome soon.

cayotte said:
May be by using a powered USB Hub would make it charged. I'm going to try it tonight and will post the outcome soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was thinking that would be the solution but I don't have a hub.
If it works with yours I might need to buy one.

rating
The supplied adapter is 1A, USB nominal is, i think 500mA so half the adapter current. On the two pc's I've tried mine on they sustain but not really charge the athena or if they do its a very slow charge.
With backlight up and wireless on I don't think they even keep pace.
From wikipedia:
"The USB specification provides a 5 V (volts) supply on a single wire from which connected USB devices may draw power. The specification provides for no more than 5.25 V and no less than 4.35 V between the +ve and -ve bus power lines. Initially, a device is only allowed to draw 100 mA. It may request more current from the upstream device in units of 100 mA up to a maximum of 500 mA."

After charging using powered USB Hub I can confirm that my device does get charged. The result is better than just using standard USB port, but worse than using the supplied adaptor.

The power consumption is because of the MD and the screen (which is much larger than on the Uni, hence the slower charging with the same amount of power).
You can't turn the MD off. However (if you don't have a powered hub), you can turn the brightness of the screen down whilst on external power and, hey presto, it will charge faster.

apd said:
The power consumption is because of the MD and the screen (which is much larger than on the Uni, hence the slower charging with the same amount of power).
You can't turn the MD off. However (if you don't have a powered hub), you can turn the brightness of the screen down whilst on external power and, hey presto, it will charge faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this sounds like a problem we had before with the universal. Turning off wifi and backlight after a few minutes of inactivity; turning brightness down to very low (next to lowest level) on external power, improves it. In fact, my ameo is now fully charged on usb. Not very fast though.
I did get a scenario using TTN 6 when it did go off in the car. The battery charger didn't seem to be doing much good. So for long distance navigation, I'd recommend fully charging your device before you leave.

I have a Veripart Car Charger mini usb that I use in my car when I use TomTom. I have the brightness at maximum, UMTS on, Push-mail on and I make phone calls. And still is has more power when I reach my destination.

QAN said:
... I have the lightning at maximum....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like a stormy ride!

apd said:
The power consumption is because of the MD and the screen (which is much larger than on the Uni, hence the slower charging with the same amount of power).
You can't turn the MD off. However (if you don't have a powered hub), you can turn the brightness of the screen down whilst on external power and, hey presto, it will charge faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi apd
What is MD? Cheers

cayotte said:
May be by using a powered USB Hub would make it charged. I'm going to try it tonight and will post the outcome soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
will not do better - already tested....
dieter

dieterpapa said:
will not do better - already tested....
dieter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May be you should use a better powered USB Hub (1 A perhaps).

Using a 6V 2100mA...
However, this may be depending on the usage of W-Lan. Seems to me that W-Lan needs a lot of power when switched on.
Wit W-Lan "On" there is nearly no charging at all.
Dieter

dieterpapa said:
Using a 6V 2100mA...
However, this may be depending on the usage of W-Lan. Seems to me that W-Lan needs a lot of power when switched on.
Wit W-Lan "On" there is nearly no charging at all.
Dieter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about charging while turning off the W-Lan? No charging at all too? Mine get charged. Only it's not as good as compared to using supplied power adaptor.

docraj said:
Hi apd
What is MD? Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MD is MicroDrive.
But I think the Microdrive should sleep itself when unused though. I would be surprised if MD in Athena is continuously spinning.

jlingo said:
MD is MicroDrive.
But I think the Microdrive should sleep itself when unused though. I would be surprised if MD in Athena is continuously spinning.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks jlingo, appreciate your clarification.

Turn off USB Charging for Omnia (solved)

Hi all, there is a way to turn off the charging function when using USB ,
1-install FdcSoft TaskMgr from here
dotfred.net/TM/FdcSoft_TaskMgrv3.3_WM6.5.cab
2-go to Devices--->$device\BAT1(BAT1 and stop this service
3-thats All
To Use charge restart this service

hey thx for the tips! but after stop the service my o2 keep saying batt low...

Is there any reason why we would want to turn off this service?

I heard that it keeps your battery in good shape

peepe1302 said:
I heard that it keeps your battery in good shape
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not so sure about that... I've always charged both my O2 and the O1 before through usb and the battery has always been fine.
Actually, I even noticed that charging through usb takes longer but once it's charged it also lasts longer (this happened on the O1, haven't made the same comparison on the O2 yet)
Dunno if plugging / unplugging the usb cable too frequently can have some sort of ill effect on the battery life, but it's not like we're plugging it every 10 minutes is it?
Never had a battery problem with a "normal" usb usage and usb charging enabled so far...

Yes but not anymore
peepe1302 said:
I heard that it keeps your battery in good shape
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's always good to drink all the juice so the battery don't develop a offline or fake "memory".
Also the multi cell assembly insde the battery praticly don't allow batery memory anymore.
Thx for the reference

Regarding battery life
Hi,
Actually, for a battery it depletes it's life every second. There is no way of preventing this But we can extend the service life. For example the most basic rules:
1-Do not charge your battery unless it is almost empty
2-Avoid deep discharging (this is not possible with a PDA coz it has an early shut down routine)
3-Do not overcharge the battery (also this not possible, coz there is a voltage limiter by hardware)
4-Do not leave your battery in a high temperature environment (for example in a car during summer, we are using chemical-reaction batteries)
the rest is do not puncture, do not short circuit boola boola boola
ok, finally while using your PDA with a USB charging interface, it should stop charging when the battery is full (Even my mother's old nokia doing this)
Plus, how much it costs for a new battery? only few bucks.. ehh.. (not for an original one ofcourse)
PDA batteries, in most cases, are 3.7volts (charging voltage is 5volts by USB) and 1200 to 1500mAh (for the ones who doesnt know what is "mAh": it is the capacity of the battery and it means if you pull for example for a 1300mAh battery, 1300 "mili ampers per hour" it will deplete. Some of my friends they are using 3.7V 2000mAh batteries while their PDAs supplied with 1230mAh batteries, thus, standby time goes up to a week. They are not using their originals ofcourse. I dont understand why manufacturers are not supplying PDAs with these kind of batteries by standart. Even a chinese made battery can be so efficient. (I am using a chinese one, my original battery is 1300mAh, i could find 1500mAh same battery)
I spoke to my friends, they are not charging their 2000mAh batteries via USB/charger while battery is in the phone. Because there is an internal electrical resistance of every battery. May be PDA's battery charging circuit get damaged! Because of this if you plan to use a high capacity battery, charge it seperately by using another charging equipment.
Finally when you want to sell out your PDA install the original battery (which you have never used before hehe ) and get a higher price

This might be some really big idiotic question, but what if the service is down and the battery drains and the phone shuts itself off, will it turn on by connecting the charger to the phone?
I ask this because with the service off even the real phone charger wont work (at least while it is on)!

houssam10001 said:
Hi all, there is a way to turn off the charging function when using USB ,
1-install FdcSoft TaskMgr from here
dotfred.net/TM/FdcSoft_TaskMgrv3.3_WM6.5.cab
2-go to Devices--->$device\BAT1(BAT1 and stop this service
3-thats All
To Use charge restart this service
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just did what you said, and now the device\BAT1(BAT1 completely disappear! How am i supose to turn it on again now?
And no, i obviously didn't delect it, i just stoped the service and it vanished from the damn list!

im very interested in this but how can you restart the charging service?

Charging Problem with Navigation turned on

Hi,
I have a navigation software on my x10. everything works fine but it seems that this programm needs so much battery that the charger can´t charger the battery.
With navigation turned on and charging the battery is still getting lower and lower.
I have a self build car charger in my car with 1000mA but it seems, that it´s not enough.
Have you any suggestions, how to solve the problem? Is there an app to change the cpu usage for the navigation to e.g. 60% instead of 100%? Or is this only possible with rooted phones?
Thanks.

Same Problem over here.
My only solution --> 2G instead of 3G and turning off W-Lan.
In that way (with GPS and Bluetooth active), the phone at least charges very slowly and doesn't drain the battery.

I had turned WLAN, BT, 3G off. But my battery was still not loading... Maybe I have to switch from 100% Screen brightness to automatic. I will try it the next time...

UserX10 said:
...But my battery was still not loading...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But the charging symbol shows up?
Did you shorten the Data+ and Data- Lines on your selfmade car charger?
I guess, you build it, like i did:
I took a 12V cigarette lighter to USB adapter.
Then I broke that thing apart and soldered a (micro) USB cable directly do the USB jack.
To make it working, I had to shorten the inner two lines.
Otherwise, the phone didn't charge at all.
Then I glued / taped / bubblegummed the whole thing an threw it behind my radio
Or did you build an other solution?

I build it myself, not broken a charger, and yes, it´s working (data is shorten), but it´s not enough to load the battery during navigation. If I turn navigation off, my battery is charging as usual.

UserX10 said:
I build it myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice one
Uhm.. what about rising mA a little further?
I've no clue what max. should be.
Probably you know?
I've also seen USB Chargers with 1500mA.
But I dunno, if its a good idea.
Phone + Battery would also heat up a little further...
Another Idea:
Maybe there is a couple of Apps running at full load in the background?
Take a look around in this forum.
Especially at the "helix launcher" and the "battery life issues" threads.
You can also download the App "SystemPanelLite".
With that one you can search and monitor the running Apps and their CPU consumption and so on.
With "Task Manger" (the one made by Rhythm Software) you can set up a auto kill rule.
Hope, that helps...

I have also tried to charge my phone with my car charger left from Omnia HD and the phone is not charging ??? HTC Desire is charging but X10 is not. Can someone tell me what could be the problem ??
Tnx

@damirbusic
The Problem is, that the two Data Pins (2 & 3 - the two middle ones)) must be shorten. Then the X10 is loading...
@McKebapp
I´m tried it with helix launcher and have some applications auto killed and all tasks closed. But it's still not enough.
It´s possible to charge the Li-Ion Batteries with 1500 mA. That will be my last solution. Don´t want to charge it with 1500mA due to overheating, specially in the summertime...

I don't have this issue at all, weird
,
-------------------------------------
..

@UserX10:
Uhm... that is strange after all...
Which Navi-SW do u use?
I use "Sygic" for onboard navigation.

Normaly I use Sygic, too.
I tried Navigon, too, but the same result.
Both Apps draining the battery more then the charger is loading...

UserX10 said:
Normaly I use Sygic, too.
I tried Navigon, too, but the same result.
Both Apps draining the battery more then the charger is loading...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really Strange...
Which temperatures do you have to deal with?
My last Idea: Maybe some overheat protection, that limits the charging rate?

By my one is the problem defently the temparatur... when i hold me phone in to the airstream from the aircooling then does the phone charging works. If i let the phone just on the right side of me on seat the it doesnt charged. But the symbol on the phone say the is currently charging... with the tool batterygraph can i see, thats isnt true...
aso i can reconized that the phone is hot.. realy hot.. extremly when the sun does shine on the phone.. the only solution is for me, to hold the phone from time to time at the airstream or i let the phone down in to the footweel, where does the sun not shine and a airstream flow around...
The akku is the warmest thing. without the cover, it works better.. i thnk the akku has around 45°... when is hot..
tested with navigon..

Hm... that´s possible. I will try it the next time with holding it in the airstream... Maybe that´s the solution.

I've got an windshield holder (dunno the correct English word).
While I'm driving open with my convertible, I set the airstream to the windshield (demister setting, but without heat), to cool the Phone a little down.
(If the Car is closed, I usually drive with activated A/C at 19°C - 23°C depending on my mood and the frozen girl on my side )
My Phone never exceeded 40°C.
So, this really may be the solution.

BY shorten the middle 2 pins... do you mean "short circuit" by joining the pins together in some way.
I have the same issue - I have the car charger from my old samsung omnia but it doesn't charge the phone and using any navigation software drains the battery very quickly

Jepp, short circuit the both two middle pins, then it will work.

For information: I tested today the charging with power supply.
780 mA is the maximum what the X10 takes. Tested with empty Battery (in Idle Mode and Apps running + WLAN + BT + GPS). Same result.
So a 1000 mA charger is fully sufficient.

UserX10 said:
For information: I tested today the charging with power supply.
780 mA is the maximum what the X10 takes. Tested with empty Battery (in Idle Mode and Apps running + WLAN + BT + GPS). Same result.
So a 1000 mA charger is fully sufficient.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i had bought an FM transmitter for the iphone for like 10bucks... the charger is USB so i just use the sony's charger cable and plug it in and it works great for me when i use NAV....no problems here

UserX10 said:
For information: I tested today the charging with power supply.
780 mA is the maximum what the X10 takes. Tested with empty Battery (in Idle Mode and Apps running + WLAN + BT + GPS). Same result.
So a 1000 mA charger is fully sufficient.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Great work!
What's your opinion about your battery drainage?
Do you really think that the phone, running at full load, will suck more than 780mA to prevent charging?
Or is it really an overheating prevention?
Something I realized today:
I drove around for about an hour today.
We had 31,5°C today.
The phone was placed in its windscreen holder directly facing with its backside to the sun.
I drove with closed top A/C at 23°C.
At the end, when I was at home, the App "TempMonitor" showed me 56°C at the battery, that still was charging.
On weekend I'll try pushing the limits a little higher.
Empty battery + Navigation + open top without any A/C.
I hope my phone doesn't melt away